If you're wondering why I can't link you to the first one, its because the threads were deleted because Nintendo couldn't find out that skarm was Canadian, as he was participating in the JAA tournament for American residents only. Heh.

The format for this years tournament will be completely different. Please make sure you read up on it here!

Registration

Ultimately, this is an invitational tournament. Not everybody who registers will be able to play. Each team will play 8 players along with 2 subs. If you don't make a team, I suggest you still support it, for the pride of your region is at stake!

In order to put your name out there for consideration, please post here with the following details:

ShoddyBattle Username
IRC Username (If you go on IRC)
First Choice of Team
Second Choice of Team (If applicable)

Click to expand...

As of now the teams will be the same as last years. However, depending on representation, we may combine/breakup a team or two, or even add more teams if demand is ridiculous, which it very well might be! Here's the list of teams as of now, subject to change at any time:

Keep in mind that some teams will be much tougher to make than others, so choose wisely if you are eligible for more than one.

In order to be able to join a team, you must fulfill one of the following conditions:

* You were born in a country in that region.
* You are currently staying in that region.
* You stayed in that region for a minimum of 5 years.
* You are a citizen of a country in that region.
* You have at least one parent from that region.

Please make sure the team you apply for applies to you in atleast one of the above ways to preserve the integrity of the tournament. We will be much stricter on this for this year than we have been in the past, as the pool of players is much larger.

Captaincy

Captains will be selected by Shiv and myself based on a variety of factors. If you think you are ready to put in the effort to captain your side, please mention so in your registration post. Keep in mind that we are really just looking for commitment above everything else. Generally, people know if they're 'good enough' to be selected for captaincy so if you think I do not know you well enough to entrust you with a huge responsibility, you may not want to bother. Captaincy will play no bearing on the actual battles in the tournament.

Captaincy comes with several responsibilities. Captains will be required to form the final roster for their region (through battling them, or even a mini tournament, we want to try to avoid favouritism and be objective, but we are certain the captains we do pick will do their due diligence to put forth the best roster possible) along with manage players and substitutions.

Last year, they were even asked to design a minisite and though we won't be having that this year, there may be some creative aspect (not necessarily the responsibility of solely the captain however, so don't worry about this too much).

All I'm trying to say is, captaincy has a lot of work involved, so make sure you understand that if you wish to apply.

And with that, registrations are now open!

If you have any queries about anything, feel free to PM either Shiv or myself or hit us up on Shoddy/IRC.

Also, please join #worldcup on irc.synirc.net for everything related to the tournament, including general chat, smack talk, updates and advertising yourself to your respective team captain!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and FIGHT.FOR.YOUR.COUNTRY!

PS: In light of the past two years, it is pretty clear that Azn > Cdn, however, as we all know, that is about to change very soon :)

EDIT: For whatever reason if you feel like taking on the responsibility of captaincy (aka you are a well respected member who doesnt pokemon anymore) but you still want the best for your nation, feel free to sign up as captain, the captain does not have to make the final roster !

IMPORTANT: If you for whatever reason change your teams/preferences/etc, DELETE your old post and make a NEW one. Thanks!

ShoddyBattle Username: Philip7086IRC Username (If you go on IRC): No IRC for me :(First Choice of Team: Team USA West (This year's winners)Second Choice of Team: Team Asia (This year's winners, should I end up here)